The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for driving nails into an object. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for rapidly driving nails with a hydraulic system and a pneumatic system.
An item commonly used to transport goods that requires its component parts to be nailed together is a wooden pallet. Wooden pallets began being used in industry in the 1930s. Wooden pallets came into widespread use by the United States Navy during World War II to move large amounts of goods in a short period of time with forklifts. Since World War II the use of wooden pallets has steadily increased every year.
It is estimated that currently there are about 1.5 billion pallets used in the United States alone. There is an estimated construction of 700 million new pallets each year while an additional 700 million wood pallets are being annually repaired.
To keep up with the high demand, wooden pallets are being mass-produced with automated pallet making machines. The automatic pallet making machines typically include nail guns that are mounted on a frame and are aligned with stringers used to make the pallet. A majority of the mass produced pallets are built on automated machines using hydraulic nailing guns. On these machines, the relative motion between the nail gun and the material being nailed stops while the nail is driven into the material. One limiting factor in the production of wooden pallets is the average speed of the material relative to the nail gun. The relative motion between the material and the nail gun is a limiting factor because the material stops while the nail is driven.
Additionally, the speed at which a nail is driven by a hydraulic system requires the material be stationary while the nail is driven. The additional time required to drive the nail into the material also has made the hydraulic system a limiting factor in the mass production of pallets.